


Stalker

by 852_Prospect_Archivist



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Drama, First Times, M/M, Series: The Stalker Series
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-10
Updated: 2013-05-10
Packaged: 2017-12-11 03:28:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,423
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/793501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/852_Prospect_Archivist/pseuds/852_Prospect_Archivist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Blair is getting letters and calls, and Jim's protective nature kicks in.  Three stories all together, one plot.<br/>This story is a sequel to Rights and Wrongs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stalker

**Author's Note:**

> This is a repost of a series rewritten. This is the gentler 

## Stalker

by Sarah Saint Ives

version of a dark and troubled story I wrote days after I recovered from a month-long coma. 

* * *

As Jim Ellison came through the door, he was met with an excited hug and a long kiss from his roommate and partner. He wrapped his arms around Blair and returned the kiss, chuckling low in his throat. Backing away to look at him, he said, "I love the greeting, baby, but I've only been gone an hour." 

"Thank you for the present." Blair said, indicating the couch. "It's beautiful." 

Jim stared in confusion. On the couch, unblinking eyes fixed on the TV screen, was a solid white teddy bear, one that made two of Blair Sandburg. More than six feet tall, it was overstuffed to the point of morbid obesity. "Damn." he said softly. "That's a big teddy." 

"You didn't send it?" Blair asked, suddenly worried. 

"No, Chief. I didn't. I guess your stalker is trying to butter you up. That kiss belonged to him." 

"Shit!" Blair looked frightened as he scrambled over to the couch to hoist the enormous teddy bear into his arms. He dragged it to the balcony window and was working on the latch when Jim stopped him. 

"What are you doing?" 

"I'm going to throw it over the balcony." 

"No, Chief. Keep it. It's nice." Jim said. "Anyway, I need to examine it. There could be fingerprints or other evidence here." 

"A teenage boy delivered it. He said some guy paid him to bring it up. I assumed it was you since you had just left." 

Jim took the bear from him and returned it to the couch. "Damn. It's heavy." he said. His fingertips began the search of the toy's button eyes, velvet ears and body. "I'm not getting anything." 

"There's a ribbon around the neck, Jim. Try that." Blair suggested. 

The ribbon was as void of clues as the rest of the bear. "Nothing." Jim said, giving up with a sigh. "Just a bear." 

"Did you bring the communication equipment?" 

"Yeah." Jim looked a bit reluctant, but took the small transmitter from his pocket and showed it to him. 

"Where does this go?" Blair put on his glasses to inspect it. 

"Someplace discreet, so he won't see it. Under your clothes, anywhere comfortable." 

"Not.....you know...." 

Jim laughed. "No, Blair. We wouldn't be able to hear the conversation if it was inside you. We'll tape it to your thigh. How does that sound?" 

"Okay. If he doesn't take my clothes off." 

The big man bristled possessively. "Don't let him take off your clothes. I'll kill him if he lays a hand on you, Blair." Jim collapsed wearily on the couch. "This is scary. I don't know, babe." 

"I'll be okay." Blair assured him. "Let me do this, okay, Jim?" 

Jim hesitated before he nodded. "We've got cops ready to follow as soon as I give the word. I'll be right behind you, close enough to hear and see everything, far enough away so he can't see me. You find out what's going on with him and keep him at a distance. Don't let him touch you." 

"I have a sneaking suspicion that he's not going to give me a choice in the matter. Maybe I should pretend to be interested in him. That could give us a little edge. You think?" 

"I don't know." Jim pulled him down into his lap and kissed him desperately. "I love you, Blair. Any time you feel uncomfortable with what he's doing.....any time you want to stop the operation, just yell my name. I'll be there so fast it'll make his head spin." 

Blair kissed him again, then sat gazing at him softly, each set of blue eyes acquiring a far-off mode of deep contemplation. Silence prevailed for long minutes. Then, Blair said quietly, "You know something, Jim? Since I drowned, I've not been myself. I feel different somehow. It's hard to explain, but sometimes, I feel like there's somebody else in here with me." 

"Somebody else in there with you?" Jim frowned. "Like your animal spirit, maybe?" 

"No, like a second soul. But mine is benign. Yours is strong. I feel an overpowering presence in you." 

"Maybe what you feel is this new love between us, Chief." 

"Yeah, you could be right. That's pretty overpowering, all right." 

Jim gave his lips a light kiss, groaning as the phone rang. "Are you ready for this?" 

Blair's wide eyes portrayed his fear but he nodded bravely. "I'm ready. You think that's him?" 

"It's him. Go ahead and answer it. Agree to meet him." 

Blair leaned to pick up the phone. "Hello?" he said. 

"Hi, Blair! Hey, did you get my present?" The male voice sounded stimulated. 

"Uh, yeah, I got it. Gee, man. Thanks." Blair gave Jim an disquieted glance. "Hey, you know, you've sent me all these letters, you've been calling me real often, now you sent me this beautiful bear. When am I gonna get to meet you? You know, I don't even know your name or what you look like." 

"Would you go out with me, Blair?" the caller asked cordially. 

"Sure. I'll go out with you. When and where?" The tone was too casual. 

"Saturday night?" 

Blair took a deep, disturbed breath and said, "Why not right now? I can meet you somewhere." 

"What about your over-protective friend? Will he let you go?" 

"He doesn't have to know." Blair said on a whim. "He's in the shower now. He's going to bed early. When he's asleep, I can sneak out." 

There was an audible swallow. "How about if I pick you up there in front of your building in an about an hour?" 

"Okay. What are you driving?" 

"Blue van. Be there in an hour." The caller disconnected. 

Blair held the phone out from his face, trembling. "He's in a blue van." 

"I heard. You did good, Chief." Jim gave him a consoling hug, took the handset from him and put it back onto the cradle. "Okay. Let's get this wire in place." 

Blair clung to him a few minutes before he stood and dropped his pants. Hiding the microphone required a skillful fitting in the crease between the leg and torso at the frontal pelvic region. Jim used a razor to shave a narrow strip of pubic hair, then taped it securely, the microphone end slightly protruding to allow sound to penetrate, and covered it with Blair's thick cotton briefs and his baggiest trousers. The test was satisfactory. Blair's voice came through clearly on the speaker. 

"Okay, we're ready." Jim informed Captain Simon Banks on the telephone. "The wire works, he's hyped and eager for this date." 

Blair gave him an eye-roll as he put on his jacket and got ready to leave. 

"You'll be right behind him all the way, right, Jim?" Simon asked. 

"Yes, sir. I'll be driving the gray Ford Taggart left parked for me so he won't recognize me. Rafe and Brown are both cruising in plain cars, too." 

"So am I, Jim. I'm in the blue Toyota down here." 

Jim went to the window and focused on the car parked at the end of the block. Simon was seated at the wheel, cellular phone to his ear. He turned and gave the Sentinel a toothy grin. 

"Good." Jim said. "Thanks, Simon. There's no way we'll lose him." 

"Damn right." Simon agreed. 

Jim hung up the phone, then went to the door to kiss Blair. "Love you." he whispered, forehead to forehead with him. "Use extreme caution with this guy, Blair. Do you hear me?" 

"I hear you." Blair answered, and gave him another kiss. "Love you, too, Jim." With that, he backed away, patted his lover's cheek, then turned and walked out the door. 

* * *

The night air was chilly. Jim waited inside the building, watched Blair hop from one foot to the other, hands in his jacket pockets, his breath coming out in clouds as he waited endless minutes for the blue van to appear. The hour passed and the stalker did not show. Finally, after too much time had passed, Blair returned to the building to wait inside the door. "He's not coming." he said. 

Hidden in the darkened corner, Jim answered, "He's coming. Just be patient. He'll be here." 

"You hear him?" 

"No. I just know." 

Blair gave him a pondering frown. "You know, it seems that you've developed this new sense lately. So far, you've never been wrong, and there is no logical explanation of how you could have known these things." 

"Well, yeah, because it's about you. We're in tune to each other, you and me." 

"You're so tuned into me that you can tell when I'm in danger, or when someone else is _thinking_ about me?" 

"You could put it that way. I got a feeling it goes both ways." Jim crouched lower in the corner. "There he is." 

Blair turned to look at the blue van stopping at the curb, then, after a long, deep breath, opened the door and went out to meet his stalker. As he opened the van's passenger door and climbed into the seat, he faced the driver, a tall, dangerous-looking stranger. "Hi." he said, hoping for a sign of friendliness. 

The stranger reached across him and strapped him in with the seatbelt, then locked the door. "Just keep your mouth shut until we get where we're going." he instructed. The voice was different. 

Blair held up his hands in surrender. He found himself thrown back in the tattered bucket seat as the van skidded out into traffic, made three fast turns and headed north on the interstate. It was obvious they were headed away from Cascade. 

* * *

"Did you see where he went?" Rafe was shouting into the radio. 

"I think he got on the interstate." Brown returned. 

"Going north or south?" Simon asked. 

Jim listened and concentrated on locating Blair with all the senses that applied, could feel him getting farther and farther away. He picked up his mike to broadcast to the others, "North! They're headed north!" 

No one doubted his word. Soon all four cars were going north on the interstate, all at high rates of speed. Simon, going more than ninety, was soon stopped by a highway patrolman. 

Nothing was coming through on the speaker except for an occasional cough and the monotonous drone of rusty shocks. Jim listened intently, waited for any clue. "Come on, Chief. Tell me where you are." 

As if he had heard, Blair's voice crackled through the speaker. "So, where did you buy that huge teddy bear? I never saw one that big before. It's really cool." 

A loud whump from the speaker elicited a painful grunt from Sandburg. "I told you to keep your mouth shut! Just shut up!" 

There were sounds of wheezing and a slight whimper from Blair, concluding he'd taken a blow to the chest or stomach. 

"Damn it!" Jim hit the steering wheel and drove faster. 

* * *

Blair did not utter a sound when the van exited the interstate onto a rural road. They traveled south for a few miles, then made a sharp turn toward the east. He was still holding his chest when they entered the gates to a rock quarry. The van came to a stop behind the trailer office. 

"Okay, get out." the driver said, unbuckling the seatbelt. 

Blair obeyed and met him at the front of the vehicle. The tall stranger put an arm across his back and guided him to the trailer. The door opened and a smiling young man with short blonde hair and brilliant hazel eyes reached down for Blair's hand. "Hi, Sweetheart. Come on inside." 

Blair stared at him in disbelief. "Luke? _You're_ the one who's been calling me?" Luke was one of the students he had spent hours of his precious time tutoring before the finals. 

"Yeah." Luke answered, drawing him in the door and closing it behind them. "Boggles the mind, eh?" 

"But...." Blair was confused. "I thought you were....straight. You've got a beautiful girlfriend. Aren't you the captain of the wrestling team? You're handsome, you're smart. Why would you want _me_?" 

"I've always wanted you, Blair. Ever since I first met you. You're super attractive." Luke slid his fingers into Blair's long curls and leaned to kiss his full lips. "You're beautiful." 

Blair pulled back from him. "Luke, please. Don't move so fast." 

Luke smiled amiably, gently traced his lips with a fingertip. "That big cop you live with. He's fucking you, isn't he?" 

Blair's lower lip trembled but he spoke up boldly. "Luke, did you bring me here to talk about him? Let's talk about us. Let's talk about why you had some thug pick me up and bring me all the way out here to this rock quarry. Where is this, anyway? Nowheresville?" 

Luke lashed out, beginning by unzipping his jacket. "Let's get you comfortable here." Blair cried out at the rough manhandling, found himself against the wall, his shirt torn off and his trousers being attacked. 

"What are you doing?" he demanded. "Stop it, Luke!" 

"Where's it hidden?" Luke asked, forcing his hand inside the waistband of the pants. "Come on, Sweetheart. Where'd he put the mike?" 

Blair struggled but a hard smash into the wall subdued him. He held the back of his head, moaning as Luke's fingers located the microphone and dislodged it. "Ow!" he complained, wincing as his stalker took the instrument to the door and pitched it outside into a mud puddle. 

* * *

Jim was already on the phone, getting information about rock quarries in the area. The blue van was stopped by the highway patrol a few miles farther north and the driver was held for questioning. 

"Richman's Rock Quarry on Lancaster Road." The location came from the dispatcher. "Exit 39 East." Jim had to back up a quarter of a mile, dividing oncoming traffic to make the exit. He found the quarry minutes later and screeched to a halt in front of the trailer. He kicked down the fragile door and burst in, gun drawn, but the trailer was vacant. Blair and the stalker were gone. 

* * *

Blair sat tensely in Luke's Cadillac, squirmed away from the hand that reached to caress his bare chest. His jacket, shirt and pants had been destroyed and left behind. The leather seat was cold. Crossing his arms, he shivered. In the driver's seat, Luke sang along with the radio, a twangy country love song in which the lyrics echoed his exact feelings for Blair. 

"He'll find you." Blair said, his lower lip stuck out stubbornly. "He won't let you get away with this." 

"Who? Your cop boyfriend? Honey, he's miles behind us, chasing his tail. By the time he figures anything out, we'll be safe and sound in Canada. I own a nice place in Canada." 

"I don't want to go to Canada! I want to go back to Cascade!" Blair shouted. "Do you even realize that what you're doing here is called _kidnapping_? When they catch you, you'll go to jail for a long, long time! And if Jim gets his hands on you, you won't even make it to court. He'll kill you, man!" 

"You think an awfully lot of your cop, don't you? You think the sun rises and sets in his ass, don't you? Well, little darlin', let me tell you, it don't!" 

Blair glanced away obstinately. 

"He ain't nobody special! You hear me, Blair?" Luke yelled. "He's just a dumb cop! Why are you so much in love with him?" 

Blair flinched as if expecting a blow. "He's my friend." he said. 

"I can be your friend." Luke said. "I can be anything you want me to be." His voice evened out and quietened. "Give me a chance, Blair. Let me love you. Let me be part of your life." 

"Love takes time." Blair said. "You don't love me, Luke. What you want is to _own_ me. There's a huge difference." 

"How long did you know the cop before you fell in love with him?" 

"Luke, things between me and him are none of your business." 

"I just want to know how long I have to wait for you to fall in love with me." 

"I'll never fall in love with you." Blair said, bracing himself for a punch. 

"Because of the cop?" 

"No! Because you're kidnapping me!" 

Angrily, Luke pulled to the shoulder of the road and put the car in park. He turned to shake his captive by the upper arms hard enough to make his teeth click together. "There was no other way! You're too busy with your own little universe to even give me the time of day! I tried to talk to you different times at the university, but you were always busy! Always in a hurry! That damned cop was always listening in! How do you expect anybody to get close to you with that guy there all the time?" 

Blair's wide eyes showed his fear as he felt behind him for the door handle. With the other hand, he found the seatbelt's buckle and released it as the door swung open. The element of surprise was all that saved him as he brought up his feet and kicked Luke in the chest, which thrust him against the driver's door. Then, Blair rolled backward out the door into the ditch. Bruised and scraped, he got to his feet and ran as fast as he could. 

* * *

It was Brown who spotted him first, just as he fell to his hands and knees, but Jim was right behind him. Luke was fast approaching, enraged and drawing a gun from his pocket. 

Brown swerved his car to the shoulder to block him and brought up a gun of his own as he opened the door and got out. "Police!" he announced. "Drop your weapon. Now!" 

Luke pointed the gun at the cop and pulled the trigger. 

"No!" Blair screamed, limping around the car in time to see blood spew from his kidnapper's lips as he was thrown back by the impact of the bullet to the throat. He stared in horror as the man strangled on his own blood. Smoke drifted up from the barrel of Brown's handgun. 

He had lapsed. Suddenly, as if time had been spliced, Blair was being enveloped in a crushing embrace. "Oh, god, baby. I was so scared." Jim was whispering to him. "Are you okay?" 

"I'm okay." Blair said numbly. "Brown, are you okay?" 

Brown went to check on Luke. "Yeah." he answered, shaking his head. "He wouldn't give up. He tried to shoot me." 

Jim took off his coat and wrapped it around Blair, then helped him into his borrowed car. "It's over, Chief." he said softly. 

* * *

"Easy, Chief. Does it burn?" Jim applied antibiotic ointment to a scrape on his knee. He had gone over every inch of his partner to be sure the injuries weren't serious. 

Blair sat on the edge of the kitchen table in a state of total undress. "Just stings a little. It's cool. He was crazy, Jim." 

"Yeah. I know. Crazy. You seem to have that affect on certain people." 

"I make them crazy?" 

"You're beautiful, you're sweet, you're affectionate, you're vulnerable, you flirt. Of course you're going to attract undue attention." 

"I don't flirt!" 

"You don't?" Jim was teasing him. "I seem to remember you being very flirty with me." 

"That was different. I was in love with you!" 

"That long ago? I'm talking about back when we first met." 

"Name one for instance." 

"Okay. We had known each other about three weeks. It was before you moved into the loft. I took you to the warehouse that night and you hugged me before you got out of the truck. You said I was your hero. Remember that?" 

"You saved my life that day! I was being grateful!" 

"That was a mighty intimate hug and while you were talking, you sat there looking up at me all cute and cuddly. I just wanted to eat you up." 

Blair's face was pink. "I loved you even then, Jim. I really don't flirt with just everybody, you know." 

"It's okay, Chief. It's not your fault. You can't help it. And you know what? I wouldn't have you any other way." 

Blair smiled and leaned forward to kiss him. "Jim..." 

"Hm?" Jim asked, giving him another tender kiss. 

"You're _still_ my hero." 

end  
saintives@goplay.com 

* * *

End Stalker. 


End file.
